Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

This Lawyer Is Tired Of Pharma Getting Richer And Americans Paying The Price — So He’s Suing

News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.

Stat:
Meet The Lawyer Trying To Pry Drug Pricing Secrets Out Of Big Pharma
Class action attorney Steve Berman is coming after a drug industry he says is “gouging” the American consumer. And his suits have the potential to crack the lid on the black box of drug pricing, shedding light on a secretive process that has sparked an escalating blame game between drug makers and the many middlemen in the US health care system. Berman sees the drug pricing system as a Rube Goldberg machine for extracting money from patients: Pharma sets a high price for a given medication, and then promises a big, undisclosed rebate to the pharmacy benefits managers who control which drugs get covered by insurers. (Garde, 4/20)

The Wall Street Journal:
Corporate Feud Exposes Big Profits On Drug Sales
The rising pressure on drug pricing has shifted to the companies that were supposed to guard against rampant increases.A dispute between two of the most important companies in the health-care industry, Express Scripts Holding Co., the largest pharmacy benefit manager, and health insurance giant Anthem Inc., has shown in stark terms how profitable some relationships have become. That will give more ammunition to critics of the system. (Grant, 4/25)

CNBC:
In The Debate Over Rising Drug Prices, Both Drugmakers And PBMs Claim Innocence
The battle over rising drug prices has become a full-blown he-said-she-said. Drug companies have pointed the finger at middlemen in the health-care system, saying they not only benefit from rising drug prices but contribute to their increases. Those middlemen — namely, pharmacy benefits managers (or PBMs) — have said the only parties responsible for drugs' list prices are the manufacturers. So who's right? (Tirrell, 4/19)

Stat:
Supreme Court To Review Biosimilar Battle Between Amgen And Sandoz
A hotly anticipated hearing takes place at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday about biosimilars and the eventual decision is expected to have widespread implications for health care costs. At issue are some of the complex procedures found in the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act that are supposed to determine when lower-cost biosimilar medicines, which are highly identical versions of expensive biologics, can be launched. And one brand-name drug maker, Amgen, is squabbling with Sandoz, a generic company, over competing interpretations of two provisions. (Silverman, 4/25)

Bloomberg:
Biotech M&A Falls Off As Trump Dashes Hopes Of A New Pharma Boom
Pharmaceutical and biotech acquisitions totaled $44 billion last quarter, down 13 percent from a year earlier, and 35 percent below the first quarter of 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. And exchange-traded funds, a good indicator of investors’ appetite in a sector because they typically track an index, are seeing about half as much trading volume in health care as three years ago, data show.Part of the reason is that President Donald Trump dashed hopes for a new biotech boom. Once thought friendlier to the industry than his Democratic campaign opponent, he’s since attacked drugmakers and vowed to force down their prices. (Hopkins, 4/21)

FierceHealthcare:
Drug Prices Still A Major Concern For Healthcare Leaders
Rising drug prices remain a top concern for health system leaders, according to a new survey.Premier, Inc.’s spring Economic Outlook Survey polled 91 people representing a variety of roles in U.S. health systems, including physicians, C-suite members and supply chain management professionals.Almost every respondent agreed that increasing pharmaceutical prices pose a significant challenge to their operations. In addition, more than 90% said they would likely experience continued drug shortages over the next three years. (Minemayer, 4/25)

Stat:
Gene Therapy 1.0 Is A Flop, But Biotech Isn’t Worried
The Western world’s first gene therapy is soon to become but a footnote in biotech history, doomed by minuscule demand and a colossal price. But its failure has hardly dampened the enthusiasm of the scientists and biotech companies betting that gene therapy’s best days are ahead. The therapy, made by the Dutch biotech UniQure, treats a one-in-a-million rare disease called familial lipoprotein lipase deficiency and has been used exactly once since winning European approval in 2012, the company said. That’s in part because it costs about $1 million for a one-time dose, a price that made it nearly impossible to get insurance coverage, as MIT Technology Review reported last year. (Garde, 4/21)

Bloomberg:
Top White House Officials To Meet With Biotech Executives And Researchers
Almost a dozen top administration officials, including the vice president and two Trump family members, are scheduled to meet next month with drug companies and government scientific researchers at the White House, according to an agenda obtained by Bloomberg. Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the May 8 summit, along with the head of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, executives from Celgene Corp. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and leaders of top research universities and hospitals. (Hopkins, 4/21)

Stat:
Roche Faces Investigation Into Charges It Wrongly Thwarted Rivals
The Competition Commission of India has ordered an investigation into charges that Roche tried to block a more affordable biosimilar version of its Herceptin breast cancer drug. Although the agency did not issue a final opinion, its order suggested that Roche moved to eliminate competition after reviewing communications the drug maker sent to the Drugs Controller General of India and the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority, as well as doctors and hospitals. (Silverman, 4/25)

Kaiser Health News:
A Spoonful Of Kids’ Medicine Makes The Profits Go Up
When prescribing medications, caring for children poses a particular challenge. They’re not just little adults. Their still-developing brains and bodies metabolize drugs differently, and what works for grown-ups can yield radically different — and sometimes dangerous — results in kids. (Luthra, 4/24)

Stat:
Bristol-Myers Shuffles Management And Its Chief Strategy Officer Is Leaving
Following setbacks with an important cancer drug, Bristol-Myers Squibb reorganized some key managerial slots last week and, as part of the shuffling, chief strategy officer Emmanuel Blin will leave in June, according to a memo written by chief executive officer Giovanni Caforio. The drug maker is integrating all commercial functions into one organization and Murdo Gordon, who is the chief commercial officer, will expand his responsibilities to include both worldwide oncology commercial activities and specialty drugs. (Silverman, 4/24)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.